UK consumers at most confident in over 9 years

British consumer morale reached its highest since March 2005 this month, adding to signs the economy is recovering and raising the question of when the central bank may start to raise interest rates from record lows.

Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The latest survey from research body GfK showed confidence rose by one point this month, with its index score in positive territory for the first time in more than nine years.

Nick Moon, GfK's managing director of social research, described the positive reading as "psychologically important". He said the U.K. coalition government should now aim for consistent positive readings in the build-up to next year's national elections.

"The next few months will be particularly interesting, since the previous venture into positive territory was merely transitory—two isolated months in January and March 2005. The last time the index was consistently positive was back in 2002," Moon said in a news release.